STL Social Media Guy

So, I go away for 12 days and a huge debate breaks out in the blogosphere about story comments, sparked by a curmudgeonly post on Gawker.com and Bob Garfield’s “On the Media” discussion.

It has been fascinating reading — particularly because we are literally days away from (finally) launching story comments on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s web site, STLtoday.com.

I am drafting guidelines for the people who will help us moderate story comments — which includes some of the newsroom aides. I would value any insights about them. See below for more.

This week has been a series of brown-bag conversations with reporters, editors, designers, photographs and newsroom aides to explain what we’re doing and why. It’s been refreshing to know that at least a few of the people who have been to these sessions have also followed some of the discussion in the blogs.

That includes the well-done post by Jack Lail — and the many comments. It includes Jeff Jarvis’ “open letter to Bob Garfield.” It includes Derek Powazek’s excellent “10 Ways Newspapers Can Improve Comments.” And, of course, it includes the stuff over on the OTM site with Mr. Garfield and his subjects.

Anyway, as I said, I’m drafting guidelines for people in our newsroom — some of whom have never moderated an online discussion before. The guidelines are designed to help some of our newsroom staff determine whether a comment “crosses the line” and should be deleted.

My goal: Write something that is concise, but clear. As we know, there aren’t always bright lines that can be drawn between an acceptable and unacceptable comment. Hopefully, these guidelines will help. But if you have suggestions to improve them, I’m all ears.

Guidelines for dealing with comments on stories

Yeah, when we let readers comment on stories, some will be nasty. Respond to bad stuff as fast as possible. If you have this note, it’s because you have the power to act on inappropriate comments. Check these guidelines; when in doubt, consult the online managers.

In general, delete a comment if it:

• makes a personal attack on someone.
• uses foul or racist language.
• is off-topic.

Now, let’s talk a little more about each category - and some of the gray areas that each presents.

Personal Attacks
The easy stuff: Don’t allow name-calling and personal attacks on other readers - or our staff. Readers’ comments should be about the substance of the issue, not the personalities who are making other comments. Name-calling, personal attacks and whatnot aren’t worth keeping.

The gray areas: An otherwise cogent remark that has one unkind word for another reader? Maybe you let it slide with a “moderator’s comment” reminding readers against personal attacks. Can you call a public figure (the mayor?) a dummy? Probably OK. We might have a higher threshold for what constitutes a “personal attack” on a public figure.

Foul, racist or gay-bashing language
The easy stuff: We have a profanity filter that XXXX’s out bad words, but if we see lots of XXXX’ed out words, go ahead and delete it. Racist comments have no place on the site and should be deleted when we see them.

The gray areas: Making a comment about race is not the same thing as making a racist comment. You might tread carefully; sometimes the other members of the community will help right the conversation. But be prepared to pull the plug if it goes awry.

Off-topic
The easy stuff: If the story is about Metro and a reader comments about the Cardinals, it’s off-topic - unless they’re talking about Metro service to Busch Stadium! Product advertisements and personal solicitations are prohibited.

The gray areas: Readers frequently write cogent remarks - and then sneak in something that’s not on topic. Use your judgment. There’s clearly a lot of discretion in this area. You get to decide what’s on topic - and what’s not.

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